Year of Czech Music 2014

Guests on 2014 river cruises visiting Prague at any point this year will be privy to some of the best musical events to have come out of the city of late, as they benefit from the results of conductor Sir Simon Rattle and soprano Magdalena Ko_ená being named as Artistic Patrons of the project and Maestro Jirí Belohlávek CBE being given the title of honorary President.

The project will involve a series of events marking over 60 different anniversaries of prominent Czech composers, performers and musical organisations. As some music aficionados will know, a year ending in four is considered a ‘year of music’, with the tradition established in 1924 to celebrate the famed Czech composer Bedrich Smetana’s birth.

Event highlights

Prague, the country’s capital, is set to host many of the hotly anticipated events in this series of concerts and performances will include the Strings of Autumn from September to the end of November, a performance of Smetana’s famous work The Bartered Bride and a number of special Prague Spring events. While the Year of Czech Music is not only limited to the Czech Republic, with many special events taking place in France, Germany and even Britain, nothing quite beats experiencing the sounds of the Czech greats in their home country.